SIMON'S LETTER TO THE CONGREGATION - SEPTEMBER 2018

Simon has recently written a letter to the congregation which is available to read below.

The letter was originally sent in email form and also available in printed form at the back of the church)

One year on!

In many ways, it is hard to believe it has been a year
already! But, in other ways, Carrie and I feel so much a part of this Church,
that we have so soon become family.

I have spent quite a bit of my time this past year doing the
following:

-
Giving good attention to Sunday meetings and
preaching

-
Spending time with staff, doing some team
building, and recruiting a full staff team

-
Gaining an overview of everything that happens
in the life of the Church

-
Seeing as many congregation members as I
possibly can (Tea with the Vicar)

I am very aware of coming to a busy Church, and one which,
over the years, has had a good evangelical ministry. I also realise that the
busyness of our Church means we shouldn’t keep adding more activity without reviewing
what we are doing, and why we are doing it. (Everyone is open to that conversation so long
as I don’t touch their particular area of passion!).

And now, the conversations I have with you are less, “When
did you arrive?”, and more, “Well, Simon, you’ve been here a year: what next?!”
It is a good question, and having spent time looking at how the church operates
I feel I am in a better position to reflect on some of your comments:

“Haven’t we got too many staff for
the size of the congregation?”

It’s a fair comment.
The Christ Church congregation has been larger in the past. On a good
Sunday, we are currently 300 adults and children, spread over three services. It is encouraging to see some growth this
year. We are on the cusp of “big
Church”, and because we have been bigger, there is a sense in which some
programmes and courses we run cater for a bigger Church feel.

We have a great, hardworking staff team. If you visit church midweek you observe how
busy the offices are, preparing for Church events other than the services
themselves. We hold Parent and Toddler events, the Good News Café, Children and
Youth Groups and Bible Studies, as well as Committee meetings and subgroups. We host a steady stream of activities from
local community users. In addition, we
maintain two graveyards and “hatch, match and dispatch” people (Vicar speak for
baptisms, weddings and funerals!). All
of this necessitates a plethora of electronic and papers communication, and
personal contact.

One year ago, I asked the PCC to allow us space to grow into
our structures. If the Church does not grow, then we might need to rethink
sustaining a large staff team. However, there is growth, and every expectation to
anticipate more! We are mindful that the
generosity of congregational giving enables us to staff the office, employing
key team members in every area of the Church life. Please know that the staff feel their job is
not just to work in ministry for the Church, but, also, to train, enable, and
resource the the ministry of the entire body of Christ. This has been the theme
of our Sunday sermons over the last four Sundays of September (catch up with a
sermon you might have missed here http://www.cc-vw.org/churchbuilder/medialib.php

“Can we give attention to ....…this
area of ministry!?”

Pastoral Care… Young Families… Seniors… Home Groups… Serving….
And more…

It is a long list, of course! Every area of the life of the
Church needs attention.

I often use the example of my Tropical Fish Tank. It is a
delicate eco system, needing regular attention. They need feeding; the climate
and temperature of the tank requires monitoring; they only survive if you put
community fish in the tank; and if you don’t feed them, they either die or eat
each other. There are some similarities with Church life!

My hope is that we continue to work away at all of the areas
mentioned above, without also losing focus on the Church life ministries which
are already well resourced. Please watch
out for emerging plans for all of the above.

What is your vision for the future?

Much work has previously been done to produce Vision Statements.
I am positive about these, and the 2020 vision contains many good things. I haven’t want to spend my first year
rewriting this statement. More of my
time has been spent observing what is going on and getting to know you better.

The strap line “Knowing Jesus and making Jesus known” is a
helpful summary of all that we seek to do here. It needs to be worked through
into every area of the life of the Church, and we can set specific targets as
to how we achieve that. The PCC have recently set up a new subgroups (including
“Evangelism and Social Action” and “Hospitality”). The hope is that these, along with existing
groups (Buildings, Fabric and Grounds, Finance, HR etc.) will help put flesh on
our vision.

The PCC will hold an away day together, in January. We will pray and plan for the future:
particularly for the Longcross Development, and our hope to also grow our work
in other parts of the parish.

With respects to the Longcross Garden Village, I have spent
time with Crest Nicholson (the Developer), other clergy and Diocesan planners,
and a consultant group who are seeking to hear the requirements of members of
the community. Plans are moving along,
slowly, but we are excited about the potential of future work here.

Forthcoming

Here are some exciting dates for your diary

November 25-26.
We have invited Prof John Lennox to speak at breakfast on Saturday 25
Nov. His subject is “Can Science Explain
Everything”. Please think about who you
can invite to this event. Tickets will
be on sale shortly. On the Sunday, at 10:30,
he will preach on “What’s wrong with being religious?”
(Acts 17:16-34). Again, please use the flyers (available shortly) to invite
friends.

December 16 We are
delighted to have J John preaching at both our Carol Services (16.30 &
19.00). J John is a funny and gifted evangelist, usually speaking at big stadium
events, such as the Emirates. We are planning for big crowds, and may
issue free tickets to manage numbers. Again, please think about who you can
invite. If you do not know J John,HERE is a brief glimpse of him in action.

Building Works (Phase One)

I am grateful to the BFG group, led by Kevin Gallagher, for
their persistence in working with our architect, and producing a great set of
floor plans for the Church entrance area. The PCC has given the go-ahead to
take this to the next stage, namely a full set of plans and costings. The
purpose of this building work is to increase the number of toilets by 100%, to
provide office space and a further meeting room, to deal with the inadequate
glass entrance area, and to improve access to the Church. We will display the
plans at the back of Church shortly.

Tea with the Vicar continues

So far, I have met with about two thirds of the
congregation. Those who have seen me will attest, I think, that they are
non-threating chats about Christian life and membership of the Church (and the
tea is not bad either). I will be continuing these during this term. Primarily
on Thursday evening and Saturday mornings. Please drop Sarah Banks a line to
get in my diary (
)

Assuming you have got this far, thanks so much for reading
this letter, and for your patience! We continue to enjoy very much your
friendliness, fun and fellowship,

Yours in Christ

Simon and Carrie

If you would like to receive Simon's letters via email please contact Sarah .